Measure G election is certified; “No” side’s victory is official

The Fresno County Elections Office on Friday released the final tally for the election, which asked city voters to approve outsourcing of residential trash pickup.

In the end, 50.73% of voters said “no” to the proposal, and 49.27% said “yes.” The final raw numbers were 29,901 “no” votes and 29,039 “yes” votes, making the final margin of victory for the No on G side 862 votes.

With today’s count update, Clerk Brandi Orth said the county is finished and the election is certified. The outcome, however, was known on Wednesday, the last time the count was updated.

Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin

When the elections office updated those numbers, the No side had jumped to an 801-vote lead. But at that time, only around 600 late absentee ballots remained to be counted from the June 4 special election.

In other words, the No lead was insurmountable.

The election’s certification brings to an end a bitterly fought and contentious election that pitted Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin against the city’s public-employee unions.

For months, both sides flooded the airwaves — both radio and television — and well as mailboxes seeking support for or against the ballot measure.

But the defeat means nothing will change. For more than 105,000 residential customers of the city’s garbage service, trash pickup will continue as it had for years.

But the narrow margin of victory shows a deeply divided city, though only 27.1% of registered voters cast ballots.